Monthly Archives: September 2008

Liam is right in the comments on PCS 8-12: Catholics should learn and know to ask for anointing for mental illness as well as physical. Anointing recovering addicts should be a standard practice. 13 In public and private catechesis, the … Continue reading →

Lots of news on Mars these days, including images of snow falling: Cool. Also lots of news coming up on Mercury as the Messenger probe readies itself for a science survey on flyby number two next week. (T)he Gamma-Ray Spectrometer … Continue reading →

I don’t know what to think about economic news today. But maybe I can channel what some of my neighbors are thinking. My family and I recently bought a new home for six figures. Six-and-a-half orders of magnitude smaller than … Continue reading →

Have you a favorite? Mine would easily be Raphael, the emissary sent to respond to the prayers of Sarah and Tobit. Each in turn prayed for death as a better alternative to their sufferings. Sarah had been afflicted by a … Continue reading →

Who may be anointed? This is the question pastors and pastoral care ministers have attempted to address since Vatican II. The sacrament formerly known as “extreme unction” was delayed until the time of death. So there were a lot of … Continue reading →

I’ve been tinkering with the blog format a bit over the past several weeks. Have you noticed the new images at the top? Another item I should’ve done long ago was to better organize the categories. All those Latin names … Continue reading →

Why have the traditional Churches embraced anointing of the sick as a Sacrament? Our understanding of a sacrament as a sign instituted by Christ to give grace has that passage in the letter of James as the most obvious witness, … Continue reading →

about Todd Flowerday

A Roman Catholic lay person, married (since 1996), with one adopted child (since 2001). I serve in worship and spiritual life in a midwestern university parish.

about John Donaghy

John is a lay missionary since 2007 with a parish in western Honduras. Before that he served in campus ministry and social justice ministry in Iowa. His ministry blog is http://hermanojuancito.blogspot.com

He also blogs reflections on the lectionary and saints/heroes/events of the date at http://walktheway.wordpress.com

He'll be a long-term contributor here analyzing the Latin American bishops' document from their 2007 Aparecida Conference.